The Best Travel Injury Lawyer in Orlando

An experienced travel injury lawyer can help you seek damages for an injury that happened while you were on vacation or traveling for business.

When things closed down because of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel of all types halted abruptly. People stayed home and postponed vacations for fear of catching the disease. There were also the canceled flights, closed venues, and COVID testing.

The leisure industry wasn’t the only sector disrupted. People from all sorts of businesses stopped traveling for work. Sales moved to Zoom, and people started relying on email and satellite offices to handle more.

Now, COVID is still around, but people are learning to live in society despite the disease. For better or for worse, things are normalizing. Now we are facing a fourth wave with the Delta variant. Who knows how long a sense of normalcy will exist. For now, travel is picking back up, and people are getting back to their plans.

But what happens when those plans go wrong, and someone gets hurt while on vacation? People suffer serious injuries on vacation and work trips alike. Sometimes, accidents are fatal.

In many cases, injuries are the result of inadequate security, negligence, and other factors that aren’t your fault. You, however, often have to pay for medical costs. People struggle with paying bills if they are out of work as a result of an injury.

Hiring an expert travel injury lawyer can get you the compensation you need to get back on your feet. Here’s some helpful information you can use if you injured during travel.

Out-of-State Injuries Can Be Tricky

If you’re involved in an out-of-state accident, there are things you need to do to protect yourself. Handling a claim or a personal injury case from a long distance is tricky because personal injury liability varies depending on the jurisdiction. Every state has different law and legal requirements.

Every year, Florida attracts millions of out-of-state visitors. People come for the beaches, clubs, great food, entertainment, and, of course, the resorts and theme parks. It’s a world-renowned destination.

However, bad things happen in Florida just like anywhere else. Hotel managements fail to ensure safe conditions for guests, venues post inadequate security during concerts and other events, drink spiking takes place at bars, and boating/jet ski/parasailing/scuba diving operators hire inexperienced staff.

When things like this happen, most of the time no one notices. But all it takes is one slip up, and someone is hurt badly or killed.

Your First Steps

If injured at a hotel, an amusement park, on the water, or anywhere else in Florida, one of the first things you should do is contact a qualified travel injury lawyer.

What you do in the aftermath of an accident has a profound impact on the outcome of your case. What you do will be used for or against you in settlement negotiations and, possibly, in court.

That’s why a good lawyer comes in so handy. They will guide you in what you should do and when. For example, they’ll help you:

• Seek the right medical care– You should see a doctor after an injury even if you’re not experiencing symptoms at the moment. You could develop symptoms later, and opposing legal teams or insurance companies will say the injuries were not serious because you didn’t go to the hospital. They may also try to indicate that something else caused your injuries.
• Find specialists – Experienced travel injury lawyers know the local area and have medical experts you can rely on to document your injuries. Medical opinions make an impact in court.
• Document evidence – Your lawyer will tell you what pictures to take, what interactions to jot down, and who you should get contact information from to document what happened at the scene of the injury. These things are often overlooked in the immediate aftermath of an injury because people are stressed and might be in shock.
• Know what to say – This is a big one. Your travel injury attorney will help you with the communications necesssary. Saying the wrong thing to an insurance company employee, to witnesses, or anyone else involved can severely impair your ability to collect damages for your injuries. A good lawyer will walk you through what to say and help manage your correspondence.

Common Travel Injuries

Whether you’re traveling for pleasure or business, accidents happen all of the time. Luckily, most of them are no big deal. You trip, you scrape a knee, but you’re fine.

However, sometimes serious injuries happen.

Hotels and resorts in Florida are responsible for hosting and caring for millions of guests each year. People pay a lot for accommodation and the basic expectation of sanitary and safe conditions.

Most of the time, that’s exactly what hotel guests get. But there are times when oversight and negligence harm guests and, in extreme instances, kill them. Here are some of the most common travel injuries we see in hotels and resorts.

Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents are a big deal. In a water-rich environment like Florida, there are a lot of risks related to slippery floors in hotel hallways and entrances. Resort employees and management are responsible for maintaining a clean, dry environment where people can walk safely.

In addition to water, things like torn carpets, debris in pathways, and other conditions cause trip and fall accidents.

These resorts have a duty of care to guests and visitors to ensure walking areas are free from danger.

Negligent Security

Resorts, event organizers, water sports operators, and other companies need to assess security risks and plan for them appropriately.

If you’re out at a nightclub, and a fight breaks out, the venue needs to have the right amount of security to keep other guests safe. Likewise, resorts, restaurants, and other venues need to know risks in the area and post security sufficient to lower risks and deter things like assault, theft, and sexual assault.

Still, things like this happen, and people are seriously hurt. Imagine the trauma of getting out on your first trip after over a year of not traveling due to COVID-19. Then, when you get to a hotel, you’re mugged while on vacation! It happens.

Drownings

Everyone loves a good swim at the pool or the beach, but there are serious safety concerns for children and people who can’t swim well. Hotels must maintain pool areas, hot tubs, and other swimming facilities well to prevent drownings. They also need to post rules and warnings prominently for guests. If the drains are not properly maintained, someone can be pulled underwater (particularly children) and a drowning or near-drowning can occur.

Getting Compensation for Your Injuries with an Expert Travel Injury Lawyer

An injury is one thing. It’s no fun, doesn’t feel good, and can affect you for a lifetime.

On top of dealing with a broken bone or worse, people typically have to manage to pay for expensive medical care in the wake of an accident. There’s the trip to the emergency room, physical therapy, and other costs. The bills pile up quickly, and soon you’re paying interest on medical debt and field collections call all while you’re trying to get better.

The cherry on top is when you can’t go back to work because of your injuries, and you lose income you would have otherwise made that could have helped out with the family or pay for medical costs.

You may also be dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from an injury like an assault or a severe fall.

The last thing you need is financial strain.

A travel injury lawyer in Florida with experience dealing with these types of cases will help you get the compensation you need quickly so you aren’t left holding the bag.

They’ll hold liable parties responsible for the accident and get them to pay for what they should.

Negotiating Damages for Your Injuries

A seasoned lawyer knows that most travel-related personal injury cases never make it into court. Going to court can be a costly affair, and most of the time resorts, hotels, or other liable parties know they are at fault.

They’ll want to handle the situation out of court as much as possible. Why do you need a lawyer then?

An expert lawyer will know how much is fair when it comes to damages for your injuries.

Insurance companies often throw out low offers that may seem high to you when it’s coming in a lump sum but will pale in comparison to a lifetime of medical costs due to your injuries.

Your lawyer will fight for a fair payment that compensates you for medical costs, lost income, pain and suffering, and other costs associated with the incident.

The team at Leighton Panoff Law is a leading travel injury law firm in Florida. We help people in state and visitors from out of state and from foreign countries with personal injury cases when something goes wrong. Lean on our expertise to win the compensation you or a loved one deserve. Contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss the details of your case.